Friday, May 13, 2016

Opera Colorado’s ‘Scarlet Letter’ the start of something big

If
you like being a part of history, you should get down to the Ellie Caulkins
Opera House tonight, or Sunday afternoon. There you will see the world premiere
of composer Lori Laitman and librettist David Mason’s “The Scarlet Letter,” the
operatic adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic 1850 of Puritan guilt and
shame.

Reviews
are written for many reasons. Most readers just want to know: should I go or
not? Yes, you should. Moving on. Most of the time the creatives involved in a
project would just like some pull-quote-worthy praise for promotional purposes.
(Hey, behind all this art, people need to sell tickets!)

Well,
this “Scarlet Letter” is a great, thought-provoking work – but it’s not
perfect. Which is why you should see it right now. More later. Moving on–

The
story hews faithfully to the original. Hester Prynne, newborn child in arms, is
publicly scorned by the close-minded Pilgrims of her town, and is forced to
wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery for life. She stubbornly will not reveal
the child’s father, the community’s pastor, Dimmesdale. Hester’s long-lost husband
shows up, pretends to be someone else named Chillingworth, moves in with
Dimmesdale, and tries to get him to confess. For years. Finally, Dimmesdale and
Hester decide to leave town and start over together, but then for some reason Dimmesdale
confesses publicly, reveals a scarlet “A” on his own chest, and dies. (Leaving
Hester holding the bag, mind you . . . oh these sensitive men!)

Laitman
is a past master at writing for the voice, and is completely up to the task
here. If she has any musical or thematic predecessors in sight, they might be
the vernacular mid-century American opera composers such as Carlisle Floyd or
Douglas Moore, or the Britten of “Peter Grimes.” She has her own distinct
voice, however, using beautiful flowing lines over complex harmonics, using a
broad orchestral palette, but not for its own sake.

Hawthorne’s
novel seems devilishly difficult to adapt; the grip of repression hangs heavy
over all the characters, the opposite of opera’s usual emotional extremes. Poet
David Mason boils Hawthorne down to fit the stage’s needs, in beautiful,
simple, straightforward language. He fills out the characters and lets them
voice observations, motivations, and attitudes that push them into
three-dimensionality. In rhyme. This is quite a feat, and runs the risk of
sounding too “June-spoon-moon” to the casual ear. But it works.

Several
passages still stand out for me – the opening chorus, Hester’s lullaby to her
illegitimate child and Dimmesdale’s nightmare in Act I, the forest duet in Act
II, and of course Dimmesdale’s killer finish, as it were, at the opera’s end. But
there are languors; some of the transitions between scenes are muddy, and Act 1
seems to peter out.

The
piece also seemed to lose some energy and focus due to the sheer size of the
stage and house. The cast is less than two dozen strong and sometimes seem to
be swallowed up on a sterile field. The distances between characters seems vast
at times, with awkward crossovers. Some movements were tentative or oblique,
blocking expressions.

Stage
designer Erhard Rom uses two curving, Serra-like monoliths that swivel, part,
and fragment to define the space, backed with ramps, curtain, and scrim, which
Greenberg uses to silhouette figures, hauntingly. Topher Blair’s projections
are a huge contributing factor as well, manifesting a green forest glade, snow,
stars, clouds – nesting the harshness of men inside a pervasive, affirming
natural world. Beth Greenberg’s direction, Rom, and Blair work together closely
to overcome the staging problems, with mixed results. But – I think that
shrinking the stage picture, putting it on in a more intimate house the size of
a Glyndebourne, would increase the work’s power tenfold.

Laura
Claycomb plays Hester; Dominic Armstrong plays Dimmesdale, and Malcom MacKenzie
plays Chillingworth. Of the three, Armstrong stands out as delivering a
definitive performance here. He goes full throttle, vocally and emotionally,
giving us a portrait of a man living in hell. To be fair, he also has the
clearest motivation and the strongest emotional line in the opera.
Chillingworth is an ambiguous figure, alternately friendly and menacing; Hester
is an aloof figure, not really blowing open until the climactic forest duet.
(Claycomb seemed to have a little breath trouble the night I saw the show.) The opera demands more emotional intensity.

So –
it’s a tad raggedy. All newborns are. There’s something very vital and worthy here,
though. Dimmesdale dies at the end, splayed out in a Pieta in the lap of
Hester. And the crowd turns to the sky, and sings about the limits of human law
and understanding as stars wheel above them, and it all comes together and that
shivery feeling of transcendence takes place.

The
audience completes the process. Take it from someone from the other side of the
lights – how you clap, how you laugh, how you listen is keenly felt. It informs
what the creatives are up to, gives them guidance, and helps them understand
their work. The work doesn’t mean jack squat in a drawer.

As
director Greenberg said last week, “People have misconceptions about going to
the opera. They ask me, ‘What should I read? How should I prepare?’ Hey – you
don’t have to prepare. If it’s done well, you will get it. Be on time, and buckle
your seat belt.”

And
here you have a little miracle. All these people and elements have finally come
together and made this brilliant collaboration come alive. (Fortunately, Naxos
is recording the shows and we will end up with a release in the fall of 2017.) Is
“The Scarlet Letter” a classic? Will it join the repertoire? I have no idea. It’s
taking shape right now, in front of the audience’s eyes. Criticism is nothing
unless it spurs you to join in the process. Go, and see what you think.

Opera Colorado presents the world premiere
production of Lori Laitman’s The Scarlet Letter on May 13, and 15 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 1385 Curtis
Street. For tickets and information please visit operacolorado.org.

About Me

This award-winning independent writer and editor returned to the place where he grew up after years as a wandering comedian. It's beautiful here. He served in a variety of capacities for the Boulder International Film Festival from 2006 through 2014. His writing portfolio includes stories written on topics ranging from grand opera to midget wrestling, for a diverse array of magazines, newspapers and websites worldwide -- including Film International, Westword, Boulder Magazine, Power Pickin', Parterre, Understanding Our Gifted, Movie Habit, Backstage, Muso, 5280, EnCompass, Senses of Cinema, Boulder Jewish News and . . . Philly Sports Faithful, for some reason. Also poet, playwright, screenwriter, blah blah blah. Check out his work at brad-weismann.com, filmpatrol.com and obitpatrol.com.

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